December 22, 2022 at 7:25 a.m.
Hodag swimmers close out 2022 with a sweep
Hodag swimmers close out 2022 with a sweep
Rhinelander won all 11 events Tuesday night and defeated Medford 119-35 in a conference dual at the Heck Family Community Pool. The event was originally scheduled for last Thursday but was postponed due to a snowstorm.
With only the first round of duals counting toward the conference standings, Rhinelander (4-0) clinched at least a share of first place entering the GNC championship meet Feb. 3 in Antigo. The Hodags can take the lead outright by beating Lakeland (0-4) Jan. 17.
"It's good to get these in before the first of the year. It was a little bit painful in some areas, because we've been training hard and hitting the weight room hard and had a practice last night, but just because the meets change doesn't mean we can change our plan," Rhinelander coach Jenny Heck said. "I think the kids looked good. The times, some of them weren't exactly what they wanted them to be, but that's just part of the process and part of the training."
Nine of Rhinelander's 10 swimmers played a role in at least one victory on the night. Jack Antonuk, Carter Gaber, Charlie Heck and Shawn Denis were all three-event winners for the Hodags.
Individually, Antonuk led a 1-2 finish with teammate Zacha King in the 500-yard freestyle (5 minutes, 15.44 seconds) and a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 breaststroke (1:03.11) with teammates Daniel Gillingham and Mathias Fugle.
"Jack Antonuk had a really solid meet. His times were really good. Our 500 guys thought both Zacha and Jack had really good times," coach Heck noted.
Charlie Heck won the events that bookended intermission. He led a 1-2-3 finish in the 50 freestyle (23.09) with Carter Gaber and Eli Lundt and then cruised to the win in the 100 freestyle.
Denis won a pair of events in unique fashion. Denis (1:05.81), Marcus O'Malley and Lundt swept the top three in the 100 backstroke. Denis also won the 200 freestyle (2:30.66), despite opting to swim the entire race using the breaststroke in a training exercise.
He was not the only one who swam a unique program on Tuesday. Marcus O'Malley followed his runner-up swim in the backstroke by swimming exhibition in the 100 breaststroke before swimming on the winning 400 freestyle relay in a rare instance of a swimmer competing in three consecutive events.
"These guys, they want to challenge themselves," coach Heck said. "They know they have to be able to swim back-to-back or swim strong four events. I know this is a way to get them stronger and they want to do it. They're challenging themselves and seeing what they can do to make themselves better. Shawn swimming the 200 breast is going to make his 100 breast better. Marcus being able to swim three events back-to-back is going to make him stronger at the end."
Gaber (52.81) edged Fugle and Dolan O'Malley in a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 freestyle. Gillingham (2:11.45), King and Dolan O'Malley went 1-2-3 in the 200 individual medley.
Rhinelander also swept the top two in a pair of relays. Marcus O'Malley, Fugle, Antonuk and Gaber (1:49.05) edged Gillingham, Charlie Heck, King and Lundt by 1.53 seconds in the 200 medley relay. King, Heck, Dolan O'Malley and Marcus O'Malley (3:39.44) beat Denis, Fugle, Lundt and Antonuk by more than 7 seconds in the 400 freestyle relay.
Gillingham, Dolan O'Malley, Denis and Gaber made up the winning quartet for the Hodags in the 200 freestyle relay (1:36.18).
Rhinelander will not return to action until Jan. 5 when it hosts Antigo and Lakeland in the first GNC double dual of the season. The double duals will not count toward the conference standings, with the exception of when Rhinelander swims at Lakeland Jan. 17, as the teams use that event to make-up their Nov. 29 snow-out.
Coach Heck said there will be plenty of training over the next couple of weeks as Rhinelander prepares for the second half of its season.
"The goal is to stay healthy, or get healthy and then really train hard over Christmas break," she said. "We have to get down to business and have hard work to do. It's not always fun, but it's important to do. If we want to have the results at the end of the year, we've got to grind it out."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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